Menstrual Characteristics and Related Problems in 9- to 18-Year-Old Turkish School Girls.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine the cross-sectional characteristics of menstruating girls, dysmenorrhea, and the frequencies of related problems.

DESIGN: Descriptive, cross-sectional study.

SETTING: Randomly selected primary, junior, and high schools in the city center of Kayseri.

PARTICIPANTS: Two thousand female adolescents of ages between 9 and 18 years.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We used a questionnaire addressing the epidemiological characteristics of menstruation, such as age at menarche, duration of menstrual intervals, average days of bleeding, and any menstrual problems and their frequencies.

RESULTS: This study consists of a sufficient number of participants from all age groups. Of the participant (n = 2000) girls, 63.7% (n = 1274) had started menstruating. The mean age at menarche was 12.74 (±1.03) years. With a prevalence of 84.8% (n = 1080), dysmenorrhea was the most prevalent menstrual problem and the average pain score was 5.87 (±2.45). Of the menstruating girls, 34% (n = 439) used painkillers, the most commonly used was acetaminophen; during their period the prevalence of nonmedical methods to relieve pain was 35.2%; the rate of seeking medical help for dysmenorrhea was 9.3% (n = 119). In menstruating participants, 90.8% discussed their menstrual problems with their mothers. The rate of school absenteeism in menstruating girls was 15.9% in general and 18% in those with dysmenorrhea.

CONCLUSION: Problems related to menstruation are common in adolescents and these problems affect their social life. In adolescent girls, the most common menstrual problem is dysmenorrhea and it affects school performance and attendance. Girls with menstrual problems showed a low rate of seeking medical help.